JoaquÃn believes that he was right to turn down a mega offer for him from Chelsea before deciding to leave Real Betis to join Valencia last year.
The Spanish international winger has revealed that he was the subject of a €42m offer from the Blues, but declined after considering that he would not be happy in England.
José Mourinho was keen to add the wideman to his ranks in August 2006 and Roman Abramovich sanctioned the enormous bid to persuade the Spanish to part with their iconic player.
Instead, JoaquÃn opted to leave Betis and move to Mestalla for €25m in order to stay in the Spanish league and closer to his close-knit family in Seville.
"I rejected an enormous deal with Chelsea when I was still with Betis," he told AS. "After a meeting with Mourinho and Abramovich the offer was €42m.
"It was so incredible, but I studied the situation and decided to reject their offer. I want to be happy and because of this I decided to move to Valencia.
"I may not have received the money but my life is better than in London, I am convinced.
"I do not have any regrets about this decision. In football, money is not always the key."
